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By Michael Russell

Tradition has it that as long as the ravens remain at the Tower of London, which they have occupied since the fortress first stood along the River Thames, the kingdom will persevere. Today, the huge black birds, sporting names like Hardey, Odin, Gwyllum and Cedric, wander the inner courtyard of the Tower, their wings clipped to ensure their continued residence. As with the ravens, the Tower of London also endures, despite assaults in the 13th and 14th centuries and more recently, aerial bombing raids during the Second World War. The fortress’s battlements command international attention, for this majestic World Heritage Site embodies the history and spirit of the land it represents.

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By Michael Russell

William Shakespeare chronicled the history on one of England’s most powerful medieval families, the Percys, in his plays Richard II and Henry IV. The Percy legacy, Alnwick Castle, remains a remarkable tribute to the impact of the Earls and Dukes of Northumberland on British history. It also stands as a tribute to the skills of the architects who designed the fortress.

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By Michael Russell

Murder, mayhem and Mons Meg dominate the history of a simple tower house perched on an island in the River Dee, near Kirkcudbright. Threave Castle served the “Black” Douglases, who used this watery site as a springboard against their rivals, the Stewarts, in the 14th and 15th centuries. As the typical Scottish tower house, the stronghold effectively merged simplicity and durability to pose a formidable threat to all comers.

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By Michael Russell

Located at the western end of the Stanegate, the Roman roadway that crossed northern England, the Cumbrian city of Carlisle has long been valued for its strategic value. In 1092, some 500 years after the Romans abandoned the post, the Normans established themselves at the site, which had been in Scottish hands since 1068. Recognizing the potency of the location - Scotland is a mere 10 miles away and the site stands on a bluff overlooking the River Eden - Carlisle was deemed the ideal place to erect a castle.

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By Michael Russell

Admired by the Romantic poet William Wordsworth as the noblest ruin in Herefordshire, Goodrich Castle crowns a craggy outcrop above the Rive Wye, just southwest of Ross-on-Wye. Guarding the river crossing between England and Wales, the heavily fortified complex of military buildings boldly demonstrated the power of the Norman Marcher lords in the borderlands. With its tremendous towers and an intimidating ditch formed from a natural chasm in the bedrock, the quadrangular stronghold retains an air of invincibility. Rising directly from its sandstone base, the well-preserved walls are perhaps only slightly less capable of withstanding a siege, as they did during the English Civil War.

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By Amy Spade

With the romantic feelings in the air, it’s no wonder that a classic theme of weddings is the renaissance or medieval times. There is a sense of chivalry and grace in that period that is easily captured for a wedding theme.

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By Michael Russell

Your first impression of Monmouthshires’s White Castle is of awe mixed with disbelief. Situated in the middle of green fields, age-old hedgerows and a scattering of well-kept homes, the stone fortress seems almost out of place. Yet with views as far distant as the Brecon Beacons, the hilltop upon which White Castle stands was an ideal setting for a castle. Admirers have long described White Castle in Llantilio as “the dreamers’ fairy-tale castle”. Deservedly so, because this masonry masterpiece possesses all the features anyone would expect from a medieval stronghold - a huge twin-towered gatehouse preceded by a wooden bridge crossing a grassy mound, encircled by a deep, water-filled moat and commanding vistas of the countryside. During the Middle Ages, the effect would have dazzled the eyes, for the castle received its name from its white plaster walls, which must have gleamed on sunny days.

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By Glenn Heitkoetter

The Renaissance began in Italy during the 1300’s, it spread to England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and other countries during the 1400’s and ending in the early 1600’s. This movement was considered a rebirth of the ancient works of art, literature, and philosophy. The Europeans studied these three endeavors of ancient Greece and Rome following the great scholars and artists, becoming themselves great in continuing and even advancing these areas. This movement reached a height in the 1400’s and the early 1500’s when achievements had become some of the greatest in history.

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By Michael Russell

Towering over the basalt dyke below its foundations, Carrickfergus Castle in County Antrim protrudes into Belfast Lough. Almost entirely surrounded by water, this rocky spur provided an ideal platform for a castle. Appreciating its defensive advantages, the Normans swiftly put the site to good use, erecting what is believed to be their earliest castle in Ireland to guard the approach to the lough. While its Gaelic name, Carrig Fhearghasa (the Rock of Fergus), remembers the 6th century drowning of Fergus, the son of Eric of Armoy, the well preserved castle also stands as a permanent reminder of the Norman invasion of Ireland and the tumultuous times of ensuing centuries.

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By Mary Anne Winslow

Renaissance and Baroque are the two most known eras in the history of art. They are so different and yet so similar. In this article I will examine Renaissance and Baroque and will compare and contrast them.

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By Michael Russell

Warwick Castle was taken over by the Tussaud Group in 1978 when it was bought from the 37th Earl of Warwick and the Group began a restoration program that is still in progress nearly thirty years later. In the process, the venerable old castle has become something of a theme park, touted by its owners in their literature as “Britain’s Greatest Medieval Experience”. This is not to denigrate their efforts however, because Castle restoration is an expensive undertaking and the “Medieval Experience” has helped pay the way.

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By Stephan Teak

Put the French and the Renaissance together and you are bound to get magic. With furnishings for your home or office, this is certain the case.

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By William Lezubski

Medieval costumes are a popular choice for many of the renaissance lovers out there that enjoy the mystery, sorcery, and glamour of that unique era!

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By Aaron Schwartz

Italy is a country where the Renaissance actually began and it dates back to the late 13th c. but the shift from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance became the most evident in the 14th c. this period is characterized by a rapid development of arts, science and culture. The cultural center of Europe was Florence, a beautiful Italian city where many famous artists lived and worked as well as many travelers and explorers of new lands did, since Genoa is a native city of Christopher Columbus. During 14-16th centuries artists as well as scientists focus their attention on the real world around them. They began to apply to the history, particularly to the ancient culture of Greece and Rome. They studied works of arts of ancient artists that certainly broadened their horizons. Actually, there was a trend to experiment and innovation in the art which was reinforced by growing wealth of cities that helped support artists.

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By Michael Cooper

Castles remind us of a time that was full of adventure and romance. Castles remind us of a time in history in which there was a lack of government and order. Although there was not mass confusion and anarchy, there was less order. Castles were the basis of feudalism. Castles can be seen as a manifestation of feudal society. Feudalism started with the rise of castles and ended with their end. The castle set the tone as the only homestead that nobility would live in during this time. Castles were influenced by and influenced many medieval cathedrals in Europe. Although castles served many purposes, their primary purpose was military. At that time, people were not protected by merely shutting and locking a regular wooden door. They needed the protection of castles and their knights. The lords and constables of castles needed serfs to work the land to make revenue in order to pay rent to the more important nobles. Given the following evidence, it is relatively obvious why castles and castle building played an instrumental role in the development of Western Europe.

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By Aaron Schwartz

The word “renaissance” means rebirth, this period was also called “Age of Discovery and the revival of Learning”. Renaissance means the moving of the European culture and re-discovering of the past Middle Ages.

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By Will Kalif

The Floor Plan for every Medieval Castle was different but there were some rules of thumb that they pretty much all followed. Here are some guidelines to help you draw a castle floor plan that is realistic and attractive.

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By Brenda Harness

Most of the Western world is familiar with the image of Venus as she rises from the sea on a clamshell in the famous Italian Renaissance painting by Sandro Botticelli. With its lyrical, graceful beauty, the work we know so well is properly named The Birth of Venus and sometimes affectionately known in contemporary culture as “Venus on the Half Shell.” Botticelli’s mythological work continues to inspire contemporary art, literature, film, and a myriad of other things.

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By Lawrence Heller

Although many when many people think of the Middle Ages as “The Dark Ages”, there were actually many brilliant innovations in the arts, politics, and medieval weapons made during this time.

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By Jeffrey Hauser

I wrote one of my Master’s thesis on Michelangelo and his relationship to the various Popes he eventually outlived. During that period of writing in my twenties, I gained a fair amount of insight into the artist and the many other contemporaries that made up the geniuses of the Renaissance. That era, by the way, is generally considered as the time from the early fifteenth century to the late seventeenth century, an era encompassing about 200 years. Sure, there were other painters and sculptors like Botticelli, Bernini, Raphael, and Ghiberti, but those were mostly people entrenched in the arts. I’m discussing the true multitalented thinkers such as Da Vinci and the aforementioned Michelangelo. In addition to their obvious expertise, they invented, created buildings, weapons, and developed many innovative techniques in the arts and science. This isn’t to slight the scientists such as Galileo, Copernicus, Descartes, Bacon, Kepler, and finally, Newton, who technically arrived a few decades later. But they were somewhat one-dimensional, compared to the two aforementioned.

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By Andrew Stephen

With Summer coming to a glorious climax, the gardens of Hidden England are in full bloom. For garden enthusiasts the opportunities are endless.

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By Jeffrey Hauser

There are many talented women of the world in politics, the arts, and science. There are educators, leaders, and creative thinkers. Because so many are part of the workforce, they are no longer viewed as simply the “little woman” sitting at home and tending the children. Rather, they have moved forward into every salient sector of society. They are recognized, praised, and awarded for their efforts in universities, private corporations, and government institutions on a global scale. Is it no wonder their entire attitude is going through a revolution?

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By Will Kalif

In the later centuries of the Middle Ages siege engines were often employed to take down the walls of a medieval castle. But in the early centuries an attacking army often did not have the skill, resources, or time to build and use siege engines so they employed other very ingenious methods including biological warfare.

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By Barry Davis

Does your girlfriend love the renaissance fair? Does she dream about the fairy tales of her knight in shining armor? Medieval proposals can be some of the most fun things to do! And if she loves medieval times, then you are going to score huge points with her.

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